Penchant for Mischief
by Grav
Summary: In which Elrohir plots, Elladan is sly, Arwen joins the family business, and Glorfindel catches it right between the eyes.
1. Penchant For Your Thoughts?

tAN: This is the first time I have ever collaborated. It was a great deal of fun. It involved Arómenë writing the first bit, panicking and sending it to me. I then got hit with a bolt of lightning, and many online conversations later, during which time we often had the same ideas simultaneously, the story emerged.  
  
About the Time: After much deliberation, we elected to set this story around 300, with Elrond's little indiscretion taking place in an early year of the Second Age.  
  
Disclaimer: Don't own any of them.though I wish I did.  
  
Summary: In which Elrohir plots, Elladan is sly, Arwen joins the family business, and Glorfindel catches it right between the eyes.  
  
OK, not literally, but I found a rhyme and got a little carried away.  
  
* * * * * *  
  
~Penchant for Your Thoughts?~  
  
"What do you think?"  
  
Elladan looked sidelong at his brother. "I think you've hit a new low, toron."  
  
"Nonsense; it's the perfect idea. He'll never see it coming," countered Elrohir.  
  
Elladan seemed to consider this for a moment. But only a moment. "You're right, he won't see it coming. But he'll see us leaving and that would mean trouble. Don't you think we've been in enough trouble this month?"  
  
Elrohir apparently didn't think any such thing, but he wasn't about to answer a clearly rhetorical question. He wasn't stupid, after all.  
  
Though, he was currently crouching in the rose bushes at the edge of the family garden observing his father and Glorfindel on a morning walk, and planning the best path of revenge to use on the Balrog Slayer for a small incident the week before. Most would think the utter thought stupidity, but he wasn't most, and his pride had been firmly squashed into the mud by the blond, and he wasn't about to let that slide. Stupid revenge plans aside.  
  
"So, what do you think?"  
  
Elladan sighed in utter exasperation.  
  
* * * * * *  
  
"Aren't you even the least bit worried they might try something?" Elrond asked his friend.  
  
Glorfindel appeared deep in thought, but the half-elf was sure he had heard the question.  
  
"Oh, I know they're planning something. But as you are aware, very little worries me. And two elflings planning schemes of revenge for something that was rightly deserved, barely requires my attention much less my concern," he replied.  
  
"Very well, so long as you are sure. The twins can be very ingenious when they wish to be. I hope this does not come back to haunt you at a future date, mellon nin."  
  
"You'll see Elrond; there's nothing to worry about. I'll catch them long before they are ever able to pull a prank off. They may be smart for such a young age, and may have inherited your penchant for mischief, but I am millennia old and have seen more things even than you. I cannot be outsmarted by two children." He nodded his head to Elrond and left his lord standing in shock in the center of the roses.  
  
"I do not have a penchant for mischief!"  
  
* * * * * *  
  
Elladan snickered so loudly he was sure for a moment his father would overhear. But thankfully Elrond was already moving off towards his study.  
  
"Did you hear what Glor said?" Elrohir was grinning as if he'd just landed the biggest buck of the hunt.  
  
"Yes, Ro, I heard him. I'm sitting not ten feet away after all."  
  
"But do you know what this means?" his twin emphasized.  
  
"Ada got into trouble when he was younger?" Elladan answered.  
  
Elrohir stared at him for a long moment. "Yes..." he started; obviously expecting his twin to continue.  
  
"And he got into trouble when he was younger?"  
  
Elrohir sighed in exasperation. "Don't you see? All those times Ada told us he was never as poorly behaved as we are, and when he said that we should act more mature for our age like he did when he was young: he was lying."  
  
Had Elladan been years younger, the utter thought of his father lying to them would have rendered him speechless in betrayal. But he wasn't younger, though his twin was certainly acting as if he was, and he was quite well aware his father, and everyone else for that matter, did not always speak the truth if they thought it for the best. And not informing his sons he was a troublemaker when he was young definitely qualified as 'for the best' in Elladan's opinion. But apparently Elrohir was beyond being reasonable or looking at the whole situation logically; so Elladan simply ignored him.  
  
This wasn't at all what Elrohir had been hoping for, of course.  
  
It was going to be a long day. 


	2. The Plot Thickens

~The Plot Thickens~  
  
Correction, Elladan mused, it's been a long week. Who could have known how much trouble Elrohir would go to just to play a prank on Glorfindel? Elladan had to admit, he was pleasantly surprised. It wasn't very often the younger twin focused his attention on something for such a length of time.  
  
It had to be a prank though, didn't it? He couldn't have focused on his archery? Elladan had found the whole thing funny five days before. Then it had become exasperating. And now Elladan was just becoming annoyed. After all, he wasn't the one who had been firmly put in his place by the family protector the week before, so he couldn't really see it from the perspective his brother did. Normally Elladan loved to plan an elaborate prank, but he was getting just a bit tired of this one. Unfortunately Elrohir was not, and completely expected his brother to assist him in his scheming an ultimate execution of what he had named "The Plan".  
  
"I wonder what he did." Elrohir mused with deceptive innocence.  
  
"What?" replied his twin, looking up from the fletching he was repairing.  
  
"Ada. I wonder what it was he did to Glorfindel."  
  
There was a terribly familiar glint in Elrohir's eye. Elladan set the arrows aside; it was likely going to take all of his concentration to avert the coming disaster.  
  
"What?" Now it was Elrohir's turn at ignorance, except that his was feigned.  
  
"You've got that look."  
  
"I haven't!"  
  
"Oh yes you have! And I insist that you tell me what it is you plan to do."  
  
"Well of course." Said Elrohir deprecatingly, "I'm going to need you on this one, toron."  
  
Elladan sighed.  
  
"We get Ada to tell us what he did, and then we do it again."  
  
"That is your plan? I was incorrect earlier, toron, this is your new low."  
  
"I wasn't finished." Elrohir said indignantly, "I don't suggest we ask Ada ourselves!"  
  
"And just who is going to do it for us?"  
  
"It has been so long since we've seen our dear sister," Elrohir's eyes shone with false sincerity. Elladan wasn't fooled for a minute. "And we missed her very much when she was in Lórien with our mother. Unfortunately, we might have gone a little overboard, literally overboard toron nin, in our greetings and when she complains to Ada, she can ask how it the world we should come to learn how to do such a dreadful thing. . . "  
  
Elladan couldn't help it. He began to laugh. He was amazed by the sheer depth of his brother's plan. With a few refinements, most of which he already had in mind; it stood a fair chance of succeeding. Best of all, Arwen would do anything for her brothers, and Elladan happened to know that their father had given her a dress she didn't like as a welcome present that he knew she would be willing to sacrifice to the cause. And they'd been meaning to teach her to swim anyway. Elladan began to talk quickly in hushed tones to his brother, whose smile grew larger and larger. Yes, this was going to be a lot of fun.  
  
* * * * * *  
  
The perfect morning was shattered by raised voices just outside the window. Lord Elrond looked up from his solitary breakfast with consternation as he identified the voices of his three children. He despaired at ever making the twins behave when their mother was not around, and Celebrian had elected to stay in Lórien for some time longer. Why in Middle-Earth could they not be more like their sister?  
  
"No Elladan, I won't!" came the voice of Arwen.  
  
"Really onómë, it's been years, and you still haven't learnt." Elladan always sounded so convincing.  
  
"Are you frightened?" baited Elrohir.  
  
"Of course not, I merely do not wish. . ."  
  
But it was too late. Arwen's voice was drowned out by the teasing Elrohir and the persuasive Elladan. All in all, the noise was intolerable. Elrond rose from the table and went to the balcony, intent on defending his daughter. Just as he reached the railing and looked over, he heard a scream followed by several loud splashes as Arwen tumbled into the pond with the aid of her brothers.  
  
The pond was quite shallow, and Arwen was able to pick herself out of it, batting away Elladan's hands. She glanced up and saw her father on the balcony and then looked down at her soaking dress and began to cry. Gathering up the remnants of the ruined skirts, she fled into the house. Elrond heard her on the stairs, and was accordingly unsurprised when she burst into the room and flung herself, weeping, into his arms.  
  
"Oh, Ada, those dreadful boys." She sobbed into his robe.  
  
Elrond regained the breath she had knocked out of him, and led her over to one of the divans in the corner. He handed her a towel, and got her some tea from his abandoned breakfast tray.  
  
"They missed you, Arwen."  
  
"So they throw me in the p-pond?" she gasped, trying to stop her tears.  
  
"Oh, Arwen." Elrond was quite at a loss.  
  
"And they ruined my new dress!" the sobs began anew.  
  
"Hush, my daughter, we can get you another dress."  
  
"Why would they do something so terrible? Who teaches them to do such naughty things?"  
  
Elrond swallowed, and tried to come up with a way to say it diplomatically.  
  
"When I was younger, Arwen, I sometimes misbehaved. 'Sometimes' might not be frequently enough, if I am being completely honest. I am still amazed that Glorfindel didn't throw me off a cliff for all of the things I did when we were younger."  
  
"Like what?" Elrond breathed a sigh of relief. She was smiling! He relaxed and kept talking.  
  
"Well, the worst was undoubtedly the time that my brother and I dyed Glorfindel's horse bright yellow, back in the Second Age. He's never quite forgiven me."  
  
"Ada!"  
  
"We thought it would match his hair you see." A smile played across the Elven Lord's face as he remembered those days long passed. "He was so very somber, my daughter, and Elros suggested that it would make him laugh. He was much more mischievous than I, and I am afraid that your brothers got it as well."  
  
"However did you manage it?" Arwen asked with artful innocence.  
  
"My daughter, there are some things that cannot be spoken of." Arwen sneezed. "And you should get out of those wet clothes! Go change my daughter, and tell your brothers that I said you may choose their punishment."  
  
"Yes Ada." Arwen was quite proud of herself. She made it all the way out of ear-shot before she collapsed in helpless giggles. 


	3. Into Thine Inheritance

~Into Thine Inheritance~  
  
"Yellow?"  
  
"Yes, toron nin, bright yellow." Arwen explained patiently. "Ada said it was because they wanted Glorfindel's hair to match."  
  
"I can't believe that Ada would do something like that." Elladan said in a awed tone.  
  
"I think it was mostly Elros." Arwen said. "He so rarely speaks of him. I've never heard Ada mention him and smile."  
  
"He's afraid of the Doom."  
  
The siblings were silent for a time, but time is next to meaningless in the haven their father had created in Imladris. One can mourn and rejoice forever, and only the timbre of a sigh indicates which of the two it is. Most elves spent their days in reflection. Elrohir was however not most elves and his attention soon wandered.  
  
"But he wouldn't tell you how?"  
  
"No." Arwen said ruefully. "But if you need my help, I'd be more than happy to oblige. After Lórien, I was feeling quite spent and now I am rather refreshed."  
  
"Well, Glorfindel might lend you the horse for an afternoon ride, and then we could ambush you. . ." Elrohir began.  
  
"Never in an age would Glorfindel let another being touch that horse, unless it was someone much, much smaller than he and that being was in imminent danger." Elladan said adamantly.  
  
"You know," Elrohir said reflectively. "It's probably Ada's fault he's so touchy about his horses."  
  
Arwen giggled. "You could always sneak into the stables in the middle of the night."  
  
"I think we're getting a bit ahead of ourselves." Elladan pointed out practically. "We need dye before we can dye the horse."  
  
"Well that is easily taken care of." Arwen said calmly.  
  
"And how, dear onómë do you propose that we get a vat of dye large enough for a horse?"  
  
"Well, you did ruin my new dress this morning, and Ada did say I get to choose your punishment." Arwen pointed out. "What if I were to insist that you help me dye some of that new white cloth I brought with me the colour of yellow that is so favoured by the maidens of Lórien? I would make a dress for myself, naturally, and possibly one for mother as well, it would help to keep her from being so homesick for the Golden Wood. And there are always tunics and such to make. All that would take a fair amount of dye, and you two would have to procure large buckets to carry it in, and the stables are conveniently located between the river and the dye room after all."  
  
Her brothers regarded her with matching expressions of admiration, tinged with horror.  
  
"I think we've created a monster, toron nin."  
  
"I learned from the best."  
  
* * * * * *  
  
"Good morning my sons." Lord Elrond greeted his oft errant offspring. He looked closely at them. "You have not dressed so alike in years."  
  
Elrohir covered a snort by creatively choking on his oatmeal.  
  
"Arwen has told us that we must help her with some dye this morning." Elladan said smoothly, "These are old clothes and will not be much marred by the dye."  
  
"A logical precaution." Elrond said, turning his attention back to his breakfast, "I had forgotten how closely you resemble each other. It is exceptionally difficult to distinguish between you."  
  
Elrond was pouring himself a drink and thus missed the look which passed between the twins.  
  
"Well father, I hear Arwen has quite the day planned for us." Elladan said. "Please excuse us."  
  
"Of course my sons." Elrond watched them leave, and then murmured, "Do not do anything I would not do."  
  
* * * * * *  
  
As far as it went, The Plan came off exceedingly well. Arwen had laced a set of buckets with dye so that as soon as the water was added it would be coloured. These Elladan had secreted in the stables yesterday. Arwen had dismissed her handmaids, save for one whom she completely trusted. The brothers came to the dye room for the second set of buckets as soon as Glorfindel left for his morning walk, and headed for the river.  
  
Elrohir, having lost a marksmanship contest to his brother, was responsible for carrying the water from the river to the dye room, with a brief stop at the stables. There, Elladan would take a quarter of the water out of each bucket, and put it into the dyed buckets. Elrohir would continue on his way, pretending to be Elladan every other trip, so that it appeared both twins were fully occupied. In actuality, Elladan was in the stable alternating between mixing the dye and keeping the horse quiet with chunks of apple.  
  
After about two hours, the dye was ready, the horse was docile, and Elrohir was completely worn out.  
  
"Toron," Elrohir gasped. "Next time I have a brilliant idea, we will not shoot arrows to see who has to do the work."  
  
"It was hardly your idea." Elladan pointed out. "And if you would practice, then maybe you would not so often lose."  
  
Elrohir muttered something just below Elladan's range of hearing, but which sounded suspiciously like "too much spare time". Elladan laughed, and the twins set to work decorating the horse. It took but a few moments, during which time Elrohir filled his twin in on what he and "Elladan" had done that morning.  
  
"Glorfindel actually stopped me four times trying to figure out which one I was." Elrohir reported gleefully. "I told him your name twice, to keep him on edge. He knows we're up to something, but he thinks we were both occupied all morning. Just when he was becoming too curious, Ada called him up to the terrace and the two of them have been chatching up there ever since."  
  
"Perfect!" said Elladan. "Now come, we must make one more trip to the river and return the buckets to Arwen."  
  
As Elladan spoke, he mussed his hair and clothes until it approximated those of his twin in appearance. The brothers picked up their buckets, and set out for one last trip to the river.  
  
* * * * * *  
  
Lord Glorfindel had a certain way of doing things. It had varied only slightly over the centuries and, unbeknownst to the elf, left him a prime target for mischief. After the twins' grueling morning, they spent the rest of the day relaxing, albeit rather loudly, in the general vicinity of the Elven Lord. So it was that when Glorfindel made his way to the stables for his evening ride, he felt assured that the situation was well in hand.  
  
It was not often that the ethereal silence of Imladris was pierced by much more than lark-song. That night, it was shattered by a roar from the stables that made even the twins jump, and they had been expecting it all day.  
  
Up the path in a glorious rage strode the Balrog Slayer. The twins and Arwen, observing from the balcony of Arwen's bower, feigned shock and surprise while straining to hear what Glorfindel was saying. He raged underneath their balcony, and headed straight for their father's study all the while shouting words that they were not supposed to know.  
  
"Come on!" whispered Arwen. "We'll miss the show."  
  
Giggling silently, the three made their way to a place long held secret between them where they could observe their father unseen and unheard. It was a tight fit, as all of them had grown since they'd last used it, but they managed nonetheless. They were settled in by the time Glorfindel burst into Lord Elrond's study.  
  
"Elrond! Your impudent sons have struck again!" he raged.  
  
"My Lord Glorfindel," Elrond said in infinitely calmer tones. "You have been with my sons all day. Surely you have monitored their actions."  
  
"I don't know how they've done it, only that they have. My horse has been dyed yellow. Again! And you, my Lord Elrond, helped them to do it!  
  
"My lord, I. . ."  
  
"Do not be coy, my lord. My memory of the day you and your blessed brother saw fit to colour my horse is clear."  
  
"Glorfindel, I swear upon Elros himself, I did not tell my sons of that prank."  
  
Glorfindel stopped pacing, gathered himself, and sat down with the grace befitting his lordly status.  
  
"I believe you, my lord." he said much more calmly. "But if you did not help the twins, who else could it be? Arwen?  
  
Glorfindel laughed at his own unlikely scenario. Elrond did not flinch.  
  
"Glorfindel," Elrond said reasonably, "The twins spent the morning hauling water for their sister, and the afternoon in the gardens. You saw them both yourself. But come, you and I will share a drink of wine and then go and examine the horse and see what we may do."  
  
As Glorfindel nodded his acquiescence, Arwen elbowed her brothers, and gestured for them to follow her. She led them to the stable, where her handmaid waited with water and brushes. Arwen sent the maid to keep lookout while the children of Elrond quickly washed the horse. When it stood again gleaming white, Arwen gave him some sugar, and the siblings left the stables in search of a well earned dinner.  
  
* * * * * *  
  
"He was yellow." Glorfindel said sounding defeated. "He was bright yellow."  
  
"My lord, maybe it was just the light."  
  
Glorfindel looked hard at Elrond, but the younger Elven Lord was unruffled.  
  
"I suppose. But those boys. . ."  
  
"I will speak with them tonight." Elrond reassured him. "I will order them to cease whatever it is they are plotting at, or I will send them to Lórien."  
  
At that, Glorfindel laughed out loud.  
  
"Imagine what havoc those two would wreak upon the Golden Wood!"  
  
* * * * * *  
  
Elrohir, Elladan and Arwen dined with their father that evening. It was a lively meal, as only four people who dearly love each other and have not eaten together in decades can have.  
  
"I was quite impressed with your work, my daughter," Elrond said as they started dessert. "It was not until I had reflected upon our conversation that I realized how cleverly I had been led."  
  
"Thank you, Ada," said Arwen, a faint blush colouring her cheeks.  
  
"All in all it was an excellent collaboration," Elladan said. "But Ada, how did you know we could hear you?"  
  
"You would not have gone to such extreme lengths only to miss the reaction." Elrond said. "I merely surmised that you would be somehow observing and offered my clandestine suggestion accordingly."  
  
"What happened to you and Elros Ada?" Elrohir asked with considerably more tact than usual. "All those years ago I mean."  
  
"Well, Glorfindel went to Gil-galad, and voiced his complaint." Elrond smiled with the memory. "Gil-galad laughed and told him that everyone had been young once with a penchant for mischief. And that he would punish us himself."  
  
"Ada, what did the King make you do?" Elladan asked in an awed tone.  
  
"Nothing." Said Elrond, his eyes glinting in joy and sorrow for those passed, "Whose idea do you think it was in the first place?"  
  
* * * * * *  
  
Lord Glorfindel rode into Imladris on a gleaming white horse. All around him was the song of the falls, of nightingales and of the stars. In a rippling counterpoint to all three, there floated down from Lord Elrond's study the sound of Elven laughter, scarce heard these days in Middle Earth. As Glorfindel dismounted, he smiled up at the balcony. These Peredhil were a bane, and burden and an endless source of joy.  
  
It kept life interesting.  
  
* * * * * *  
  
AN: In regards to language, toron and onómë are Quenya, and Ada is Sindarin. This is simply because I like Ada better than Atar, the Quenyan word for father.  
  
Also, I really had to use some form of the word "acquiesce" for reasons that will make sense to a few people and not to most, but which are really quite funny. Trust me. 


End file.
